That's Not A Word
by Chasyn
Summary: Sora tries to convince Riku that a word is a word.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do, however, own Kitra, an oddity in herself.  
**Note on Kitra:** Her original name was Vit, then changed to Vitty, and now is Kitra. Why? Because I wrote this a long while ago and based her off my internet persona. And then on another website, someone started calling me Vitty and I've now been Vitty on that website for over 3 years. So… Kitra gets a name change. She has a twin brother, Kashi. Though he's not in this one. So ignore that little piece of information.

* * *

**That's Not a Word**

"That's not a word."

Sora glanced up from the spot on the floor of his bedroom that he had been staring at. There had been nothing at all interesting about the spot. He couldn't remember why he had been staring at it. Now, though, he was staring at a somewhat perplexed looking Riku standing above him. "Hmm?"

Riku crossed his arms about his chest. "I said that's not a word, Sora."

Sora blinked his eyes, his mind racing. _What wasn't a word? Had they been talking? Wait…what?_ "What?"

Riku's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the brunette. "Sora, where are you?"

Sora smiled slightly and ran a hand through his messy thick brown hair. "Sorry. I got distracted."

"Distracted?" Riku said, rubbing at his forehead. Just being in the same room with Sora was enough to give him a headache. "By what?"

Sora shrugged his shoulders as his eyes lowered to the floor. Now he couldn't find the spot. It would probably be best if he didn't mention it to Riku. The silver haired teen might accuse him of not listening. _Wait...I'm doing it again..._ "But it is a word." He said slowly, remembering their conversation.

"No, it's not. If it were, it would be in the dictionary. Sora, it's not a word." Riku's arms dropped to his sides. "I'm going back outside." He turned swiftly and slipped out of Sora's bedroom door.

"Wait for me!" Sora called as he leapt to his feet. "And it is too!" He hurried out the door.

Riku didn't slow until he reached the water's edge. His gaze lowered, watching as the small waves lapped at his shoes. A smirk spread across his face as he heard Sora behind him. His grip on the wooden sword in his hand tightened. Without warning, he turned and swung it out with great force.

Sora barely had enough time to duck out of Riku's way. He rolled to the side and reached for his own discarded wooden sword.

It had been just over an hour before that the two were battling back and forth. Riku had been winning, as always, when Sora had screamed out something Riku hadn't quite understood. Dumbfounded, Riku had stopped and asked Sora to repeat the word. That soon led to an argument about the realism of the word, followed by them abandoning their game and wooden swords to the sand, and retreating to Sora's room. There, Riku hadn't let up about the word not being a word.

Sora lifted his sword to meet Riku's with a loud crack. He smiled as he gripped the sword hard and pushed his weight against it. "It is a word!"

Riku jumped back and gave a half snort as he tucked a strand of his long silver hair behind an ear. "Don't start that again, Sora." There was a slight hint of irritation in his voice as he lifted his sword, pointing it at Sora.

But if Sora heard the intended irritation in Riku's voice, he didn't show it. "It is so!" He thrust forward, attempting to throw Riku off balance once again. Instead, he found himself face first in the sand, the blunt wooden tip of Riku's sword at his back.

Riku gave a high laugh as he stepped away. He swung his arm up and balanced the sword across his shoulders. "What is that? Like a million to one?" He asked with a wave of his arm.

Sora pushed himself off the ground and dusted the sand off. Riku was just too fast for him. That was the third time this morning Riku had gotten the best of him. He sighed slightly as he turned around and forced a smile. "Yeah yeah yeah. One of these days, Riku. You better watch out."

Riku laughed and shook his head. "I'll keep that in mind." He turned slightly, his eyes moving towards the horizon. It was his turn to let out a sigh.

Sora followed his silver haired friend's gaze as he stepped up beside him. "What?"

Riku closed his eyes a moment before answering. "Do you ever feel… inadequate with the islands?"

Sora opened his mouth then clamped it shut. He turned his head slightly, his gaze moving to watch Riku. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Riku side glanced at Sora and laughed at the confusion on his young friend's face. He threw his arm around Sora's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "Too big of a word for you?"

Sora glared at Riku as he pushed him away. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Okay, okay!" Riku held up his arms in an apologetic manner. "What I meant was…" He paused as he turned his eyes back on the horizon. "Do you ever miss the adventure?" There was a wistful tone to his voice. "We spent so long battling for Kingdom Hearts..." He sighed softly. "It all just seems... dull now."

Sora nodded slowly, contemplating Riku's words. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. And I do miss my keyblade. This thing is a sorry replacement." He glanced down at his wooden sword.

That made Riku laugh. "I would agree with you there."

Sora continued. "But… it's nice to just be, you know? To not have to save the worlds. It's a lot of responsibility to put on one person's shoulders."

A smirk appeared at the corner of Riku's mouth. "Yeah, especially when that person is you."

Sora turned to glare at Riku once again. "Yeah? Well… it is a word!" He gave Riku a playful shove and stuck his tongue out.

A sigh escaped the lips of the silver haired teen. "Okay Sora. Let's say I believe you. It is a word. What does it mean then? Since it's not in the dictionary." He had turned to face his friend. He crossed his arms about his chest and cocked his head to the side, waiting.

"What does it mean?" Sora repeated slowly as he turned.

"Yeah. If it's a word, it has to have a meaning."

A silence hung around them for a long moment. At last, Sora lifted his head, and then shook it. "I don't know exactly."

Riku threw up his arms and turned away. "I don't believe it. Spend all afternoon convincing me that…" He glanced back at Sora. "How do you say it again?"

"Nyao." Sora replied, not being able to hide the smile on his lips.

"Yeah… nyao. You spend all afternoon trying to convince me that nyao is an actual word and you don't know what it means." He lifted his hand to his forehead, feeling that Sora-inflicted-headache coming on.

The pose made Sora laugh. "Well… it is a word. She said so." He said with a nod.

"She?" That stopped Riku. "Sora, who told you it was a word?"

"Does that really matter?" Sora seemed to shift nervously.

Riku's eyebrows rose. Did he really want to know the answer? "Humor me, okay?"

Sora tilted his head to the side as if in deep consideration over Riku's question. At last, he turned slightly and began to walk off slowly, dropping his sword before doing so. "Kitra told me." He said over his shoulder.

"Oh." Riku said slowly, as if that explained everything. "And you believed her?" He dropped his wooden sword beside Sora's discarded one. Then he followed after Sora, jogging slightly to catch up. "You know that she's completely insane, right?"

"You know, Riku..." Sora started, giving his friend a stern look. "It's not nice to poke fun."

"I'm not poking. Simply stating the facts. The girl is crazy!" Riku lifted his arms wide as if to help exaggerate the word crazy.

Sora simply smiled.

"So..." Riku started slowly. "Kitra just walked up to you one day and said nyao is a word?"

Sora leaned back slightly and scratched at the back of his head. "Well... yeah actually." He said with a goofy grin on his face. "I couldn't sleep last night so I got up to take a walk." Sora started as they moved towards the door that lead up to the strange hill where the paopu tree grew. "So I was walking along the beach and Kitra... she just... like appears."

"Appears?" Riku's eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. I didn't hear or see her until she was right beside me. And she's like, 'Nyao?' and I'm like, 'What?' and she repeats it. And then she smiles and winks and then just runs off."

They stopped as they reached the door and Riku turned the knob. The door swung open with a creak. Riku slipped through the door first and turned to face Sora. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall slightly. "So she didn't exactly say it was a word, then."

Sora closed the door behind him and let out a nervous laugh. "No... I guess not. But she said it... and she sure acted like it was one."

Riku nodded and turned towards the steps behind them. "Sorry to tell you this Sora, but it's not a word."

"And just how do you know?" Sora followed him up the stairs.

"Because I've got one of these." Riku pointed at his forehead.

Sora tilted his head slightly, a confused look on his head. "What? A big head?" Then he ducked out of the way as Riku took a playful swing at him.

"A brain, you idiot. More than I can say for you." Riku said as they stopped. They were at the top of the stairs.

Sora reached out to open the door. "Well… later we can go and talk…"

"Kitra." Riku interrupted, looking past Sora.

Sora glanced back at Riku and nodded. "Yeah. We can ask Kitra."

Riku raised his eyebrows. "No. Kitra. Right there." He lifted his arm to point towards the paopu tree.

At nineteen, Kitra was two years Riku's senior but she acted more childish then Sora. She was as tall as Riku and her black hair was cut in a very short, boyish style. She had moved to Destiny Islands a year ago, right after her eighteenth birthday. She could be seen daily with a notebook and pen in hand, scribbling away at words that no one on the island had ever read.

In fact, at that very moment, sitting on a branch of the paopu tree, she was doing the same. She was facing the two boys as they stood in the entry, but she hadn't seen them yet. Her wide eyes were on the notebook in her lap, seemingly mesmerized by the words left by her pen.

"Hey Kitra!" Sora called out without warning. They slipped through the door and let it close behind them.

Kitra lifted her head slowly. "Ah. I was wondering when you two would show up. I've been expecting you."

"Really? You have?" Sora exclaimed as he stepped towards Kitra.

Riku hung back a moment, shaking his head. He wasn't Kitra's biggest fan. Everything that came out of her mouth, according to him, was a lie. And Sora always believed her.

"I won't bite, Riku." She sat up fully and relaxed her pen hand, letting it lay flat. "Now Sora…" She turned her gaze upon him. "I believe you have something to ask me."

"Hmm? Oh yeah!" He smiled, not even thinking twice Kitra's choice of words. "Last night you saw me on the beach, right?"

Kitra tilted her head slightly and dropped her gaze, as if in deep concentration. "Yes… I think I do recall that brief meeting Sora. What about it do you wish to question?"

Riku had stepped up to stand beside Sora. He crossed his arms about his chest, a look of boredom on his face.

"Well… you said, 'Nyao?' and that's a word, right? And I told Riku here…" Sora turned slightly and poked his silver haired friend, "But he doesn't believe me."

Kitra smiled broadly. "And you want to know if it is a word, am I correct?"

Sora nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

"Very well." Kitra said as she gripped her pen harder. "I will tell you." She paused. "It is a word." Her gaze dropped to her notebook and she began to write once again.

"See? I told you Riku!" Sora poked at him again.

Riku dropped his arms and shoved Sora lightly. "If it's a word, then, what does it mean Kitra?"

Kitra raised her gaze and stopped her writing once again. She was never going to finish at this rate. "You won't just take my word for it?" She smiled sweetly and batted her eyes.

Riku shook his head. He didn't trust her word.

Kitra nodded. "I anticipated that much from you." She sat up once again and leaned back slightly. "Nyao is a word. It has many meanings as well, depending on the way you use it. Mostly, it is used in the form of a question. Like if I say, 'Nyao?' it means 'What's up?' or 'How are you doing?' But if it's used at the end of another question, like, 'What do you mean, nyao?' it's considered an enhancer. That means it makes the question very important. If it's you in sarcasm, then it means something along the lines of 'Yeah right.' Like unbelievable. And if nyao is used as a derogatory term… well… let's just say it doesn't mean anything nice." She smiled and titled her head to the side. "Does that answer your question boys?"

"That's a lot to remember." Sora said as he scratched at the back of his head.

With a satisfied nod, Kitra once again took to writing in her notebook.

Riku shook his head slowly and turned. He wasn't convinced, but he had learned a long time ago that you couldn't argue with Kitra. And doing so would just give him a headache. She and Sora had that in common. "Whatever. Come on Sora." Riku took a step towards the door.

Sora glanced back at Kitra, then nodded and caught up with Riku. "Told ya!" He said with a smirk as he poked Riku yet again.

"You just keep thinking that." Riku threw his arm around Sora's shoulders and gave him a slight squeeze.

Sora let out a snort. "You're making fun of me again, aren't you?"

"No I'm not." Riku let his arm drop and flashed Sora a smile. "You're just far too sensitive."

Sora rolled his eyes. "You are making fun of me."

Riku laughed and was about to comment when Kitra's voice broke his thoughts.

"And just so you know Riku..." Kitra started slowly as her pen scribbled away at her notebook. Then she paused, letting her pen drop and notebook drop to the ground in front of her. She stood up slowly and gave the two boys a broad smirk. "I'm not completely insane."

Riku and Sora had both turned around and now stood staring at Kitra. They exchanged a confused glance before looking back at her.

Kitra laughed and lifted a hand to her head. She pointed a finger at her temple, and then lifted it to point towards the sky. "Only mostly insane."

Riku smiled and nodded his head. "I don't question that. Not at all. But I still don't think it's a word Kitra."

Kitra then touched her finger to the side of her nose and winked. "One day..." She walked between them and headed for the door.

Sora turned back towards the paopu tree and noticed Kitra's forgotten notebook. He stepped forward and bent down to pick it up. "Hey Kitra! You forgot this!" He stepped up beside Riku once again and held it out to her.

Kitra turned quickly and smiled. "Of course! Can't let this fall into the wrong hands!" The tone of her voice dropped as she touched the tip of her finger to Sora's nose and accepted the notebook from him.

Sora smiled. "It could bring down the entire world." He laughed slightly.

"Oh no." Riku rolled his eyes. "We're all doomed." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"You know it baby!" Kitra smirked and winked, her eyes shifting from each boy. "Now... you two are dreadfully tedious, mind-numbing, and unexciting to me of now. If you'll forgive me, I will take abscond of you." She turned back towards the door and slipped inside.

Riku shook his head slowly. "See Sora? I told you. Completely insane."

"Maybe..." The brunette agreed. "But I still think it's a word. And what does abscond mean?"

"You, my friend, are hopeless." Riku gave Sora a playful shove. "It means to leave secretly and fast. Doesn't make a lot of sense… since we saw her leave."

"Hey look!" Sora pointed down the coast, not paying any attention to Riku. "There's Kairi!"

Riku followed Sora's gaze and smiled. Sora had a remarkably short attention span. "Race ya!" He turned and dashed for the ladder behind the paopu tree.

"HEY!" Sora called as he scrambled after him.

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Once out of earshot of anyone, Kitra glanced down at her notebook. The words she had scribbled earlier made her smile. She shook her head slowly and dropped it to the sand at her feet. The pen rolled off the notebook and rolled slightly in the sand. Then taking a quick deep breath, Kitra ran towards the ocean with her arms open.

Scribbled on the top page of the discarded notebook, in barely legible writing, was the follow:

_"You know it baby! Now... you two are dreadfully tedious, mind-numbing, and unexciting to me of now. If you'll forgive me, I will take abscond of you." _

_"See Sora? I told you. Completely insane."_

_"Maybe... But I still think it's a word. And what does abscond mean?"_

_"You, my friend, are hopeless. It means to leave secretly and fast. Doesn't make a lot of sense… since we saw her leave."_

_"Hey look! There's Kairi!"_

_"Race ya!"_

_"HEY!"_

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**Author's Notes:** I had this Internet friend who made up and used strange words and one day she made one up for me. Nyao is my word! MINE! MWHAHAHAHAHA!!! I tried to remain in character while being out of character...if that makes any sense. Anyone any stupider?


End file.
